Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (abbreviated as MK vs. DCU) is the eighth game from Midway Games of the Mortal Kombat series which was released in the date of November 16, 2008. The game contains characters from both the Mortal Kombat franchise and the DC Universe. The game's story was written by comic writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. It is available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms. Story When worlds collide, unsteady alliances must be formed to save each Universe. Time is running out and the Rage will make sure none are left standing! What will happen in this epic battle? Story Mode Chapters The story mode of Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe is told in 15 chapters: (7 for MK characters and 8 for DC characters), with one character being playable in each chapter. The order of each chapter is listed below. Character Roster According to interviews, the characters were chosen for their popularity and parallels between the characters from both universes. Ed Boon has said that some of the characters' abilities, especially on the DC side, have been toned down to make them balanced within the game. A case of this Ed Boon mentioned, is Superman will have some vulnerabilities because of magic, otherwise the game would be sorely unbalanced. Quan Chi, Shazam and the Guardians of the Universe make cameo appearances in the Story Mode. Johnny Cage's tombstone also appears on the Graveyard stage. Arenas *Apokolips *Bat Cave *Fortress of Solitude *Gotham City *Graveyard *Metropolis *Netherrealm *Oan Senate *Raiden's Temple *Shao Kahn's Throne Room *Special Forces Base *Themyscira *UN Space Station *Wu Shi Academy Gameplay The game features a Story Mode, playable from two different perspectives, one from the DC side, and one from the Mortal Kombat side, and depending on which side players choose, they will see the characters from the opposite universe as the invaders of their own, the player must also play as different characters which are split into chapters. Intertwined with the fights there are new gameplay mechanics featuring totally different game dynamics to the usual fight. These modes include Free-Fall Kombat which is activated automatically after throwing the opponent to a lower level in the arena; the player can fight in the air during the fall building up a Super bar, when a player's Super bar fills, they can activate a powerful character specific move which slams the opponent into the ground for big damage, ultimately ending the sequence. Another mode is Klose Kombat, which causes the characters to lock with each other and the perspective to change to a close-up of the two, to make for an interval of close-quarters fighting. A new mechanic called Rage Mode is activated when the fighter's second gauge bar fills up. Upon activation, damage dealt to the opponent increases and the opponent cannot harm you unless both of you are in Rage Mode. During fights, the characters show permanent signs of visual damage, such as bruises, blood marks, and broken or torn clothing pieces. For example, Scorpion, if attacked for long enough, will lose part of his mask, revealing his skull-like head. Test Your Might makes a return as an in-game fighting feature. By throwing an opponent through a wall, the offensive player mashes buttons to drive the opponent through a set number of walls while the player on the defense mashes buttons to decrease the damage taken. All characters except Darkseid and Shao Kahn have finishing moves. The Mortal Kombat characters and the DC villains have 2 Fatalities each, while the DC heroes have 2 Heroic Brutalities. These finishing moves are only available in Arcade mode and Versus mode. Downloadable Content Ed Boon said that there would be Downloadable Content for the game, however, none were ever released. He had hinted on adding new chapters and costumes for the characters, but, as he later explained in his Twitter page that DLC is currently not possible and confirmed that the two DLC characters who were planned to be released were Quan Chi for the MK side and Harley Quinn for the DC side. Doomsday and Kung Lao were also hinted at by Ed Boon. Later on, the development team behind the Mortal Kombat series was reformed as Netherrealm Studios. NetherRealm would develop Kung Lao and Quan Chi for Mortal Kombat (2011), three years after the crossover. Both Harley Quinn and Doomsday were made playable for Injustice: Gods Among Us, their second console game with DC Comics. Kollector's Edition The Kollector's Edition was later released for both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 platforms. Its contents included the game, a comic book based on the game, a sealed copy of the Kollector's Edition's box art, and a blu-ray copy of the first Mortal Kombat film. Cast *Ronald M. Banks - Quan Chi *Dana Lyn Baron - Sonya Blade *Perry Brown - Darkseid, Dark Kahn *Ed Boon - Scorpion ("Get over here!" and "Come here!" voice clips), Jax ("Gottcha!" voice clips) *Tom Choi - Liu Kang *Kevin Delaney - Captain Marvel, Reporter, Special Forces Guy *Richard Epcar - Raiden, The Joker *Dave Gazzana - Batman *Taliesin Jaffe - The Flash, Security Guards *James Kyson-Lee - Shang Tsung *Patty Mattson - Catwoman *Michael McConnohie - Kano, Ganthet, Newscaster *Jim Miller - Sub-Zero *Tara Platt - Wonder Woman *Josh Phillips - Green Lantern *Patrick Seitz - Scorpion, Deathstroke, Shao Kahn, Dark Kahn *Christopher Corey Smith - Superman, Guardian #3, Batcave Computer *Joe J. Thomas - Lex Luthor, Shazam, Guardian #2, Mobster *Dan Washington - Baraka, Jax *S.G. Willie - Kitana *Herman Sanchez - Announcer *Paul St. Peter - Endings Narrator Trivia *A free copy of this game was included when pre-ordering Injustice: Gods Among Us at Walmart. *This is the first Mortal Kombat ''game where the voices are recorded in California instead of in Chicago. **The game's voices were recorded at New Generation Pictures. *This is the only ''Mortal Kombat game in the series that is not rated Mature in any platform due to lowering the level of violence in the Fatalities and restricted use of the DC license. **As a result, this game is sometimes criticized by the fan base because of its toned-down violence and Fatalities relative to the other games in the series. *There are several important characters from both universes who are mentioned in the game, but are not playable and, in most occasions, do not appear in it at all. **In the opening to the MK Story Mode, Quan Chi says to Shao Kahn that Shinnok will be displeased by the latter's failure to conquer Earthrealm. **In the DC Story Mode, during the cutscene where Kano tries to hit The Flash with his eye laser, he says that "you'd give Kabal a run for his money", due to his speed. Wonder Woman also mentions Martian Manhunter, saying he could take The Flash's place during his missions. **Fujin, the God of Wind and Argus, the God Protector of Edenia appear and are mentioned in Liu Kang's ending. Argus is mentioned in Kitana's ending as well. ***Compared to the above, the only unplayable characters from the DC Universe are Martian Manhunter, who was referenced by Wonder Woman, and Sinestro, mentioned in Green Lantern's ending. *In the official prequel comic, Johnny Cage and Goro on the MK side and Aquaman and Robin on the DCU side can be seen briefly. *''MK vs. DCU'' was the first Mortal Kombat game to be released on PS3 and Xbox 360. *This is the first and only game so-far to feature Close Kombat, and Free Fall Kombat. *Shao Kahn, Darkseid, and Dark Kahn do not have any Fatalities. **Fatalities or Heroic Brutalities can be performed on Shao Kahn and Darkseid, but not on Dark Kahn. *Sometimes it is possible to not get the story mode achievements as they can be glitched. It may take one or two tries of completing the story mode to get the achievements. *In a Top 10 list hosted by Screwattack.com, Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe was labelled #1 for the Worst Fatalities, due to its heavy censoring and lack of blood and gore, particularly noting Kano's Flip Stomp Fatality. *Kitana, Baraka, Kano, Deathstroke and Catwoman are the only characters to not have a story mode chapter. *Aside from the Final Showdown, Catwoman, Sub-Zero, Raiden, Baraka, and Deathstroke are the only characters that are not infected by the Rage during the main Story Mode. *Two special move animations from this game appear in Mortal Kombat (2011), but not as standalone special moves themselves. Kitana's Teleport Spin is used in her X-Ray and (Cyber) Sub-Zero uses his Tombstone Teleport when tagged out. *This is the first game in the series in which the Mortal Kombat franchise makes a crossover with another video game, comic, TV show, or novel. **This is also the only game in the series to feature characters from another franchise that are a part of the storyline. *Thus far, it is the only post-''Mortal Kombat 4/Gold'' game that does not feature Koins or The Krypt. External links *Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe at US.PlayStation.Com *Official site *MK Blackout news about MK VS. DC *Ed Boon's Official Site *High resolution concept renders at Mortal Kombat Secrets. es:Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe ru:Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe pt:Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Category:Games Category:Mortal Kombat Category:DC Universe Category:Non-canon Content Category:3D Games Category:Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe Category:Console-only games Category:Playstation-Console Games Category:Microsoft-Console Games